The Hôtel Jean de Pins in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, France, is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

hôtel particulier An ''hôtel particulier'' () is a grand townhouse, comparable to the Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse or mansion. Whereas an ordinary ''maison'' (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side an ...

'' (''palace'') of the 16th century. Its double gallery on the courtyard is a listed

historical monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

since 1995. Hôtel de Pins et hôtel Antonin

History

Hôtel de Pins, built by humanist Jean de Pins, was almost entirely demolished in the early twentieth century to make way for a new street known as rue de Languedoc. Some remains of the building, considered in the sixteenth century as a 'magnificent palace', did in fact survive and were incorporated into Hôtel Antonin, built on same site in 1903, and

Hôtel Thomas de Montval The Hôtel Thomas de Montval in Toulouse, France, is a 20th-century ''hôtel particulier'' (''palace'') built with Renaissance elements of the 16th century. The central porch gives access to the inner courtyard through a covered passage. The faça ...

on rue Croix-Baragnon.Explanatory comments of ''Toulouse Renaissance'' exhibition (2018), Colin Debuiche. Jean de Pins, senator to Milan (1515), French ambassador to Venice (1516-1520) and later Rome (1520-1522), returned to Toulouse to devote himself to the humanities and start the construction of his townhouse around 1530. Located close to the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on a plot measuring more than 3,000 square metres, the ''hôtel'' comprised two houses placed at right angles. One was situated between the street and the courtyard, while the other, larger one stood between the courtyard and the garden. They were connected by a system of superimposed galleries.

Architecture

Jean de Pins returned from Italy with a taste for architectural regularity and repetition (arcades) and an attraction for outdoor pleasures (galleries, garden). He also broke with the Toulousain tradition of the great staircase tower. In 1542 the next owner, the merchant Jean de Nolet, started adapting it to his needs by building a shop with arcades opening on to the street and a side entrance to the courtyard. In 1903 the architect Joseph Thillet cleverly assembled two galleries in the courtyard of Hôtel Antonin. The ground-floor gallery came from the section modified by Nolet in 1542, while the first floor came from the period of Jean de Pins.

Ornementation

The ornementation in the courtyard is typical of the Renaissance. In addition to the human figure, which is celebrated in the portrait medallions, the attentive observer will notice very precise references to classical architecture. Indeed, Jean de Pins instructed the mason working for him to sculpt the Ionic pilasters on the gallery according to the engraving of a treatise on classical architecture published in Italy in 1521, which he probably discovered during his travels. In 1542, Jean de Nolet hired the famous sculptor and architect

Nicolas Bachelier Nicolas Bachelier (1485–1557) was a French surveyor, architect, and sculptor who particularly worked in Toulouse. Bachelier is famous in Toulouse for having been the architect, proven or presumed, of several '' hôtels particuliers'' of the Ren ...

for the creation of medallions, the majority of which are currently at the

Pictures

Hotel de pins (1).jpg Jean-de-Pins-2.jpg Pins-arcades-2.jpg Hotel de pins (3).jpg Hotel de pins (2).jpg Pins-medaillon-3.jpg Pins-medaillon.jpg Pins-medaillon-relief.jpg Illustration-pins.jpg Hotel de pins (4).jpg Pins-lion-01.jpg Pins-lion-02.jpg

Bibliography

Jules Chalande Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

, « Histoire des rues de Toulouse », ''Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences et Belles-Lettres de Toulouse'', 12^e série, tome IV, Toulouse, 1926, . * Guy Ahlsell de Toulza, Louis Peyrusse, Bruno Tollon, ''Hôtels et Demeures de Toulouse et du Midi Toulousain'', Daniel Briand éditeur, Drémil Lafage, 1997

References

External links

« hôtel de Molinier, puis hôtel de Cathelan, puis hôtel de Felzins »
site du Patrimoine de Midi-Pyrénées. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hotel Jean de Pins Houses completed in the 16th century Buildings and structures in Toulouse Renaissance architecture in Toulouse Hôtels particuliers in Toulouse